A Parent's Nightmare
by Cece Bass
Summary: Their faces were plastered all over the country. They were the world’s most renowned terrorists, an elite group of individual hackers who seemed unstoppable.


The W. Bros. own the Matrix and all of its characters. No copyright infringement is meant.  
  
This is just a quick little blurb that had crossed my mind the other day. Please read and review. Thanks.  
  
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Their faces were plastered all over the country. They were the world's most renowned terrorists, an elite group of individual hackers who seemed unstoppable. They were considered so dangerous that the government assigned a specific bureau designated just for them. It was now their job to locate this terrorist group, keep tabs on them and bring them in, dead or alive. Number one on their list was a man known only as Morpheus. Not much further down on that list was the name Thomas A. Anderson, also known as Neo, who was born on March 11, 1962 in Lower Downtown, Capital City; the son of Michelle McGahey and John Anderson.  
  
A few years back, it was these agents who had paid a visit to the home of Michelle and John looking for their son.  
  
~~~  
  
The knock at the door startled her. Michelle had been engrossed in another one of daytime's infamous soap operas. She pointed the remote at the television and pushed the mute button. She made her way across the room to find a man dressed in a dark suit and a pair of sunglasses just outside the front door.  
  
"Mrs. Anderson?" he asked in a low, monotone voice. She simply nodded. "I'm looking for your son, Thomas."  
  
"And may I ask who you are?" she asked in a defensive tone.  
  
"Agent Smith. I am a government official." He reached inside his jacket and pulled out his credentials then handed them to the woman standing in the doorframe.  
  
She took the billfold from his hands and briefly looked over the information, not that she would actually know if his identification was credible. But she pushed her doubt aside and stepped back from the door, allowing the agent to enter her home.  
  
"What is this about?" she inquired, closing the door behind her then following Agent Smith deeper into the room where she handed back his billfold.  
  
Agent Smith walked further into the room, the shadows from the open blinds finding their pathway across his face. "We've had our eyes on your son for quite sometime. You see, he has performed almost every illegal computer operation possible. And now it's just a matter of bringing him in for questioning."  
  
"Well, you must have the wrong person. Thomas would never-"  
  
"I assure you, we have the correct person," he interrupted. "He is very skilled when it comes to computers. And with your help, we hope to resolve this situation as quickly as possible."  
  
"Please, have a seat." She gestured for him to sit on the couch, knowing that this would be more than a quick visit.  
  
~~  
  
That day seemed like ages ago. She tried to call Thomas as soon as the agent left that afternoon to find out for herself what kind of trouble her son had gotten himself into. But she had been unsuccessful. Not only had she been unable to reach him at home, but she couldn't get through to him at work either.  
  
Michelle learned that Thomas was known as Neo in the computer world from Agent Smith. He created everything from programs to viruses and sold them illegally to consumers who would pay him thousands of dollars. She also learned that he had been contacted by another hacker, though this one was considered very dangerous. The agent hadn't gone into a lot of description regarding that, but he did say that the government needed to get into contact with Neo to protect him from this certain individual. Otherwise it could mean certain doom.  
  
Michelle told Agent Smith as much information that she knew regarding Thomas, including all past addresses, girlfriends, jobs and such; anything that the agents could use to track him down. It seemed that Morpheus had been helping Neo escape from the agents when they neared in on him and the agents were quickly becoming agitated.  
  
It wasn't long after the visit from the agent that Thomas disappeared. Michelle always had her suspicions that the government had captured him in some well organized scheme, but then she thought better of it, realizing that Thomas had probably run when he learned they were looking for him. Her thoughts were confirmed when she learned that Thomas was involved in a government shootout and aerial attack where many lives were lost.  
  
So here she was, reading the paper again as her son's name appeared in the 'Top Ten Most Wanted' list with a short description by his name and photo that listed many of the crimes he committed over the past year and a half.  
  
She couldn't figure out where she had gone wrong. She hated waking up to find the latest edition of the newspaper lying at her doorstep. Often times she would find articles in it that involved countless acts of violence that her son was involved in.  
  
Her husband comforted her in the beginning. He believed that Thomas would show up at their door someday and explain the logistics of it all. Or at the least he would call at some point to offer some kind of explanation. But as the days went by Michelle and John started to lose hope. Their son had become a vigilante.  
  
They blamed themselves for the most part, like any parent would. Sure, they knew deep down that they tried their best. Thomas was a grown man who was plenty capable of making his own decisions. But when he was a child and had taken an interest in computers, they had adorned his newest hobby and promoted it highly. They were so proud of how quickly he seemed to learn from it.  
  
Now look where that hobby had gotten him. But something never quite made sense to Michelle and John. Why, after all this time, had the government agents been unable to apprehend Thomas? How did he continue to escape each and every time? Why didn't agents ever return to question them again, looking for new clues? Had they just given up? Michelle and John knew the answers were out there, it was just a matter of finding them --- if they wanted to.  
  
-----The End----- 


End file.
